"Absolute joke" - Furious Chris Wilder takes aim at Sheffield United "fan" hampering Blades' survival hopes

A furious Chris Wilder has taken aim at the Sheffield United supporter who leaked the Blades' team ahead of their trip to Aston Villa on Friday night, accusing them of "harming the football club" and describing the situation as "an absolute joke." The Blades were close to pulling off a remarkable victory at Villa Park before a 97th-minute equaliser saw them settle for a point.

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United were close to pulling off the perfect away performance against a side who could have gone top of the table with three points, with Cameron Archer's strike on his return to his boyhood club looking like the winner until Nicolo Zaniolo flicked home deep into nine minutes of added time. Wilder was forced to make five changes after a number of fitness issues from the previous weekend's defeat at Chelsea, with his starting XI being posted and re-shared on Twitter earlier in the day.

That would have given Unai Emery's side plenty of time to see it and alter any of their plans for the visit of Wilder's side - and the Blades boss was fuming after the game. When asked by The Star about Jayden Bogle's absence for the crunch clash against Luton Town on Boxing Day, after collecting his fifth caution of the season at Villa Park, Wilder replied: "Well, listen, it is what it is. Everybody will know the team anyway, by the way, because it'll come out on Twitter, apparently, about half 10 on Boxing Day morning.

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"So, you'll know the team pretty early. So that's a decision that I've got to make. I think it's a joke. It's quite difficult obviously to keep the team pretty much quiet but I'm not happy about that situation. If anybody thinks that team gets banded about pretty easily, they have another thing coming. They're harming the football club.

"So whoever did it, I appreciate that. Thanks very much. I'm going to have to tighten everything up around the training ground, and everything. That has not done us any favours tonight. So lesson learned from that, for me, as well. It's incredible. And so that person ... brilliant. Call yourself a Sheffield United fan? I'm not sure that I'll call him or her, or whoever it is, a Sheffield United fan. It's an absolute joke."